Whisky Review: Macallan 18

Name: Macallan 18
Spirit Type: Single Malt
Age: 18
Region: Speyside
Year Distilled: Not specified
Year Bottled: Not specified (2012?)
Cask Maturation: Oloroso Sherry
Alcohol %: 43%
Color: Amber + 4
Date Purchased: 2012.09
Price: Sample with Macallan 12

Information

The older and more refined brother of Macallan 12, the Macallan 18 comes in at three times the price.  If you can’t afford a whole bottle, you can often find samples of Macallan 18 packed with bottles of Macallan 12.

Nose

Rich sherry syrup.  Deep red fruits.  Sweet apples and cocoa.  Much more balanced alcohol compared to Macallan 12.  Slight lemon and vanilla cream.  A hint of unlit match and dry woodiness.  Doesn’t take too much water.

Palate

Oily rich.  Warm cloves, cinnamon, and cocoa.  The alcohol has mellowed quite well.  None of the bitterness of Macallan 12 – it seems replaced with a nice dry cocoa note.

Finish

A quick hint of pepper.  Medium in length – not as long as I expected.  Vanilla in the back of your throat.  Smoothly fades away.

Conclusion

The alcohol has softened surprisingly well.   This is essentially a richer, more mellow Macallan 12.  Again, a bit one-dimensional like the 12, but still well worth trying at least a sample.

Overall Rating: 87/100

Compare To:

  • Macallan 12
  • Glendronach 12
  • Aberlour A’bunadh
  • Bunnahabhain 12

Macallan

3 Comments

  1. Danny Chan August 15, 2014 1:41 am 

    Hi, i was wondering where i can buy the macallan 12 and get a sample of the 18. i cant seem to find it anywhere

  2. lrymarz August 15, 2014 9:42 am 

    I believe I got this with a Macallan 12 bottle at Costco. It’s possible they’ve stopped making this specific package. Its more of a mass-market type of packaging, so your best bet would be to look in supermarkets or stores that aren’t specialty shops.

  3. produits de luxe October 30, 2018 10:52 am 

    Simply a smiling visitant here to share the love (:, btw great pattern .

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